The way you use Instagram is about to majorly change
We’re not even three months into 2016 and it’s already been a big year for Instagram. In February the app (finally) rolled out a feature that lets users easily switch between accounts, and now it’s planning another big change — one that people probably won’t be quite as enthusiastic about. According to the New York Times, we won’t be seeing things the same way on Insta for much longer.
Apparently the app developers are planning to implement an “algorithm-based personalized feed for users,” (kind of like Facebook) meaning no more reverse-chronological updates. Instead, which posts we see first will most likely depend on which users we interact with more.
This isn’t all that surprising, considering Insta is owned by Facebook — it was only a matter of time before Facebook decided to introduce its algorithm-based feed to its subsidiary.
Chances are Insta (and Facebook) can expect a lot of backlash about this. People were furious when Facebook started using the new algorithm for people’s feeds, and Twitter drew quite a bit of wrath when word got out it was planning on trying something similar.
We’re a little wary about this upcoming change, but this could actually be a good thing for Insta. As the Times points out, the new algorithm could mean you’ll never miss your BFF’s photos — something especially useful to users who follow a ton of people. (Insta co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom estimates that users miss about 70% of the posts in their feeds.)
Plus, many have lamented the fact that you can’t mute an Insta account, and we all know just unfollowing someone can be easier said than done, what with the cruel nature of social politics. A feed that actively learns whose posts you’re most interested in could mean you’ll never have to see posts you don’t want to see again — without having to unfollow them and possibly face that awkward “but why did you unfollow me?” convo.
We’ll just have to wait and see how this all unravels on Instagram.
